ISSN: 2241-6692

Greek Neo-Noir: Reflecting a Narrative of Crisis

Mikela Fotiou, Nikitas Fessas

ABSTRACT

This article proposes a brief chronology/evolution of film noir in the context of Greek Cinema, in order to look at Greek neo-noirs as narratives of crisis. The article has two case studies: Nikos Nikoladis’s O chamenos ta pernei ola/Loser Takes All (2002) and Alexis Alexiou’s Tetarti 04:45/Wednesday 04:45 (2015). These two films are products of two distinct periods in modern Greek history, that are, however, linked. We claim that Greek filmmakers have used (neo)noir characteristics, such as its tropes, and typology of characters, to represent both the Greek financial and socio-political crisis, but also, vice versa, they have used nationally and historically specific versions of (Greek) crisis as a backdrop for their neo-noir narratives. Therefore, we argue that films like Loser Takes All, and Wednesday 04:45 both reflect and mediate the crisis in their form and content, while they feed these neo-noir representations back into Greek society and culture, as they constitute a lens through which to look at, and make sense of periods of crisis.

Keywords: Alexiou, crisis, film noir, genre, Greek cinema, neo-noir, Nikolaidis